


Finding You

by reen212000



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-02-22
Updated: 2007-02-22
Packaged: 2017-10-13 08:07:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/135038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reen212000/pseuds/reen212000
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sheppard is ill and wanders away from his quarters. Is Rodney McKay the only one that can find him? Uh, yeah! Sickness Challenge at sga_flashfic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Finding You

**Author's Note:**

> So I wrote a fic called Affinity on FF.net. Zoame comes from that story, but you don’t need to read it in order to understand this one.

Maybe he was sick.

Maybe he was just tired.

Or maybe he just didn’t feel like getting out of bed this morning.

Either way, John Sheppard pulled the covers over his head in defiance of the approaching dawn. _I need curtains over that window,_ he thought as he watched the sky lighten. His room was very cold. Or perhaps he was just cold. John let the coolness of the room lull him back to sleep, shutting away the daylight.

The City buzzed around him urgently; his headset chirped and clicked plaintively. Burying himself deeper in his favorite blanket, John let his mind drift away, lost in the faint sound of the tide.

\----------------

“Why would I know where he is?” Rodney McKay answered another call for the colonel. “Look, I’m not his keeper, and I’m sure he’s just avoiding everyone. Seriously, do not call again! I have work to do!” With a huff, he tapped his radio off. That was like the fifth call for that idiot. Sometimes, yes, it takes a genius to find him, but seriously. How hard can it be? “Radek!”

“There is no need for you to yell, Rodney. I am right here next to you.” Radek Zelenka blinked myopically, readjusting his smudged glasses.

“So you are. I’m going to look for Sheppard, because apparently he has outsmarted everyone else.” McKay threw his pen down on the desk and shuffled out of his lab. This is annoying.

\----------------

John wandered along the halls of The City in a haze, feeling like a breeze across the water. A blanket wrapped around his shivering body, he blindly followed an inner map. Strangely enough, he didn’t remember leaving his bed. He found his way outside to a small balcony he had never seen. With his back against the cold outer wall of Atlantis, he stared out at the vast sea. Pulling the blanket tighter, John was vaguely aware of his bare feet growing numb. Letting his mind wander a bit, his eyes slipped close.

In the back of his unfocused mind, there was an urgent hum from The City. As much as he wanted to wake and leave the balcony, John sank faster into a deep sleep. Atlantis even let him hear the various communications over the citywide system for a Colonel John Sheppard to report to the Control Room. From a great distance, he heard a familiar shuffle.

“What the hell are you doing out here, Colonel? Trying to freeze to death?”

As much as he wanted to answer, John was unable to fight off the oblivion beckoning him.

\------------------

Rodney held his newly modified LSD straight in front of him. Even with it, he could barely get a lock on the colonel. He suspected The City was trying to help, noisily chirping when he turned the wrong way. From the transporter, Rodney instructed Atlantis to take him to a part of the massive city he never, ever thought about coming to. It was damp with stagnate sea water and various dead plants. Not to mention a healthy dose of creepiness.

What – why – Sheppard was in this cold dead place was beyond him. Rodney followed the display, mapping a way to the stationary dot just outside. Entering a narrow room, he saw a door with broken glass. He peeked his head out between the largest broken space looking quickly outside. The rusty balcony was hanging by a thread, and contained a heap of brightly colored blanket with spiky hair and a pale arm sticking out of it. Awkwardly, Rodney juggled the LSD while trying to open the door panel. The door refused to open earlier, and he wondered briefly how the colonel got out there.

 _This damned city will do anything for John Sheppard!_

The door slid open before Rodney could tinker with the control crystals. _Thank you!_ Stepping cautiously out onto the balcony, he felt it wiggle a bit. He called out to the colonel, to no avail. The blanket didn’t even twitch. Carefully, he moved an inch at a time, pretending not to hear the light groan of stressed metal.

“What the hell are you doing out here, Colonel? Trying to freeze to death?”

Just as he reached the edge of the blanket, the railing on the balcony gave way. Rodney watched in horror as a piece grazed the top of the colonel’s head, ruffling his hair. Sheppard’s hand moved under the blanket slowly. “Of course! He moves when his hair gets mussed, but not when I’m screaming his name!” The petrified scientist scrambled for purchase as the balcony groaned again. “Sheppard! Wake up!”

Still no response. In one quick movement, Rodney bent down, grabbing the edges of the blanket. Once he was sure the limp body wouldn’t fall out, he dragged the blanket closer to the door. _Two more steps, McKay!_ He grasped more of the blanket and managed to pull most of Sheppard’s lanky body inside before the balcony fell away. Rodney listened to the platform scrape the outer walls of The City as it plummeted to the water below.

Letting go of the breath he was holding, Rodney pulled the rest of the blanket inside; the colonel’s head and shoulders were still hanging over the edge when the balcony fell. “My God, Sheppard! For someone so skinny, you are heavy!” He fished around in his pockets for the tiny flashlight he brought with him. Unwrapping the blanket, he revealed the colonel’s face. Tapping his radio, Rodney smoothed away the damp sticky hair from Sheppard’s sweat-dampened forehead. Oh my–

“Carson! It’s McKay!” He really didn’t mean to sound so squeaky, but the heat radiating from a person should not be this high.

 _“... are you ...ney?”_ The static was something he didn’t bank on, but at least they heard him.

“I found the colonel, but he’s–”

 _“...all right?”_ Definitely a woman’s voice this time.

“No, Elizabeth, he’s not. He’s burning up, and won’t wake up. He seems to be wheezing a little,” Rodney said, hoping to sound calm, cool and collected.

 _“...find him? ...you?”_

“This isn’t working! There’s interference from something here. Look, I’m, uh, moving out of the area, so I’ll call you in a minute. McKay out.” He irritably folded his arms across his chest. Looking down at his burden shivering on the damp floor, Rodney kneeled down. “Sheppard, you so owe me.” Taking a fever-hot arm, he pulled the colonel into a sitting position. Getting his shoulder behind Sheppard, he positioned the limp man so he could wrap his arms around the slim waist.

Rodney dragged the colonel out of the room into the dimly lit corridor, towards the transporter. He leaned the unconscious man against the wall, and caught his breath. In hopes of relieving his strained back, he placed his hands on his hips, then walked slowly back to the small room. _If I come back without Zoame’s blanket, Sheppard will kill me._

Wearily, he leaned down to retrieve the brightly colored blanket. Even though it lay in a puddle of water, the blanket was still relatively dry. _What is this made of? I wonder– Sick, freezing man in hall. Ask later._ Rodney shook the standing drops off the puzzling blanket.

When he returned, he found Sheppard leaning forward, elbows on drawn knees. Intermittent trembling nearly dislodged his head cradled in his hands.

“Oh. Now you’re awake.” The colonel’s response was little more than a moan, and Rodney kneeled down next to his friend. “How do you feel? Can you stand?” Another moan accompanied a violent shiver. The scientist pulled the blanket tightly around Sheppard, who began to scoot away.

“Whoawhoawhoa, Colonel! It’s me. Calm down!”

“McKay?” a raspy voice asked.

“Yeah. I’m here. Can you stand?”

Sheppard shook his head to clear it. The fog in his brain was so thick, he could barely make out Rodney. His blood was boiling, but his skin was freezing. The conundrum of sickness, he surmised. Placing one had on the wall, he braced himself to rise. As soon as he was stood, he felt his knees buckle. Strong hands held him upright, and the colonel had to remind himself Rodney was the only other person there. Together they entered the transporter.

They were deposited back in the central tower, and Rodney could no longer support the waning colonel. He settled Sheppard against the wall outside the transporter. Tapping his radio, he contacted Carson Beckett once more.

 _“Rodney, it’s good to hear yer voice. What’s happened?”_

“Sheppard’s very sick, Carson. We’re at Transporter Station 4 in the central tower.”

 _“That’s a ways away. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”_ While Beckett calmly signed off, Rodney could hear the medical staff scrambling in the background.

“Sheppard?” Rodney sat down next to his friend. “Beckett’s coming, so don’t, you know die or anything.”

“Where am I?” The colonel’s eyes were slits as he turned his head in the direction of McKay’s voice. “Am I dreaming? Why are you here, McKay? I don’t normally dream about you, but there you are... I–”

“Shut up, Colonel.” Rodney moved closer, but his arm around Sheppard. “Come here.” But John’s eyes were already closed. He listed to the right, and Rodney caught a blanket-wrapped arm. A moan and a grumble later, he placed the colonel’s head in his lap. “And if you breathe a word of this to anyone...”

John felt himself falling, and he was powerless to stop it. Then he felt his arm being pulled the opposite direction. His head was pillowed on his companion’s thigh; if he could string together a sentence or move his leaden body, he would definitely protest. John curled into a tight ball and fell into a cold darkness. The last thing he felt were cool hands in his hair and on his neck.

When Carson finally came, he had to forcefully uncurl his patient. Somehow, the colonel had grabbed a handful of Rodney’s jacket and wouldn’t let go. McKay removed his jacket to allow the doctor to take care of Sheppard. As much as he wanted to follow the gurney hurdling through The City, Rodney stayed for a moment longer. The blanket Sheppard received as a gift was left on the floor. Beckett had said the colonel would have to be cooled down, and asked the scientist to bring it later. Patiently, Rodney folded the blanket and held it tightly in his arms.

Once again, his friend was ill, and Carson would make him better.

Once again, his friend would eventually need a diversion.

Rodney McKay smiled a little, and made his way to the infirmary. _I will always find you._

\----------------

The End.


End file.
